NYU Tandon Welcomes K-12 Students, Teachers for STEMNow

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 07/11/16

New York University's (NYU) Tandon School of Engineering will launch its fourth annual STEMNow program this week in an effort to inspire excitement about science, technology, engineering and math among K-12 students.

Launching this Wednesday with a keynote speech from Carmen Fariña, chancellor of schools for the New York City Department of Education, STEMNow will bring nearly 1,000 students and their teachers to Tandon's downtown Brooklyn classrooms and labs.

"We know that STEM is the foundation of our future, and that's why New York City has invested in high-quality, hands-on STEM education for all students, including the Computer Science for All initiative and expanded STEM Summer in the City," said Fariña in a prepared statement. "I'm so pleased to have NYU as a partner in this work to get students passionate about STEM, and on the path to becoming the next generation of scientists and engineers."

Highlights of the event will include:

• Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE), a free, seven-week program for students in grades 10 and 11from minority or low-income backgrounds who have had limited access to high-quality STEM education. ARISE will feature college-level lab research and coursework in a range of STEM fields and almost one-to-one mentoring by graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty.
• The Creative Circuit Design Workshop is a one-week program for students in grades 11 and 12 that will explore the basic circuit blocks underlying nearly all of today's interactive devices.
• Creativity in Engineering, Science and Technology (CrEST) is designed to train students from community renewal schools in various STEM disciplines.
• Nearly 400 middle school students will attend CrEST workshops, which will feature CrEST lessons covered by teachers in 30 hours.
• GenCyber: Computer Science for Cybersecurity will aim to introduce high school girls "to role models, computer science, programming, virtuous hacking and digital forensics during intensive and supportive sessions designed to encourage them to pursue educational opportunities in cybersecurity," according to a news release.
• Science of Smart Cities will introduce middle school students to the engineering, science and technology behind making cities more livable, sustainable and safer.
• Tech Kids Unlimited, hosted by an organization of the same name, will introduce students aged 7-19 years with special needs to technology tools to help them succeed.
• The Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program provides mentors for students interested in construction and design careers. This summer the NYU Office of Facilities and Construction Management will offer four paid internships.

STEMNow will also offer professional development opportunities for teachers, including:

• Discovery Research (DR) for Teachers, in which "20 middle school science and math teachers will spend three weeks at NYU Tandon as part of a comprehensive year-round STEM professional development program, funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation DR K-12 program," according to a news release. "NYU will field a team of interdisciplinary experts in robotics, engineering, education, curriculum design, and assessment to make robotics central to and sustainable in the city's science and math classrooms. Math and science teachers return to their schools supported by NYU Tandon graduate students."
• In Research Experience for Teachers (RET) in Cybersecurity Tandon faculty will teach educators how to engage their students in digital forensics and cybersecurity.
• Cybersecurity for College Instructors RET will offer a similar program for teachers of college students.
• STEM Summer in the City 2016 will include training for 15 teachers.

"This year's STEMNow will make an exciting mark on the landscape of STEM education in New York City and beyond," said Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, president and dean of engineering at NYU, in a prepared statement. "When a high school student is exposed to high-level research in a university lab or a passionate NYU Tandon student mentor, it opens up previously unimaginable possibilities. When teachers return to their classrooms with innovative ideas for engaging their students in STEM, it has a ripple effect on entire generations of future engineers and scientists. We're pleased to open NYU Tandon's doors so that others can be inspired by our stellar faculty and students, work in our labs and classrooms and immerse themselves in our culture of intellectual curiosity and technology in service to society."

More information is available at engineering.nyu.edu/k12stem.